Today we’d like to introduce you to Kumi Hirose.
Hi Kumi, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
When I was 7 years old, Sailor Moon’s anime was popular and I loved that manga, so I often copied it to my notebook. It was manga that made me like “pictures” rather than being interested in “art”.
When I was in the 4th year of college, I drew a lot of more pictures than other students, so when I graduation ceremony, I received Valedictorian Prize and A Prize of Collection in university’s museum.
That was my first award, and I remember being very impressed.
At that time, I decided to “become a painter.”
I’ve been drawing colorful and pop pictures since college, so people around me often said, “You looks good in New York than in Japan.” From that time on, I wanted to choose New York as a base for my activities about work, rather than Japan and Europe.
In 2014, I moved our activity base to New York.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I was lucky, it was a smooth road, except for the hardships to win the prize. When I won the award at college, I had a hard time getting up at 4am and returning from school at 11pm every day. But, I am glad that I learned that time if I make an effort, the results will follow.But, I’ve heard that a famous manga artist sleeps only once every 3 days.
There are many people who are having a harder time than I am. We can’t win the result without effort. I want to emulate someone who is having a harder time than I am and do my best.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I am a painter who paints on campus. I specialize in oil painting, acrylic painting and mixed media. I know that “art” includes elements of sensation, sensibility, fashion, emotion, psychology, spirituality, and mentality. I want to create art works that can please people’s hearts, giving them “good energy” and “good mood”.
What I am proud of is expressing the crazy passion in my heart when making paintings. Recently is in addition to crazy passion, People are look at my art work, I would like to express of the world that make you feel positive such as “Get energized”, “Cute”, “Interesting”, “Beautiful”, “Cool”. What sets me different from others is that my work is colorful, pop and powerful.
Do you have any advice for those just starting out?
I think painting is a unique aesthetic of the person. I want you to express it freely! I want you to take in your favorite beauty and draw a picture that you can of the world view freely expressed without being bound by stereotypes. When you start painting, I hope you enjoy drawing and painting!
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: http://kumi-hirose.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kumimihirose.artist
